Writer of Ultra-Sensual Romance

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Friday, July 6, 2012

Soooo, after a considerable hiatus, I am a writer again.
Sometimes you have to step away from something for a time to truly see it
clearly. With that said, I've come to the conclusion that once one
is a writer she/he cannot really stop being one, even if they try, even if there
is absolutely no tap, tap, tap on the old keyboard. I’ve learned that it's
a thing that has become a permanent part of me. Even when I wasn’t
working on anything at all, trying to avoid every aspect of writing--story
ideas, character images, and settings continued to pop into my mind. They nagged me, actually.

At this point though, my approach is different. I have
reframed how I look at the process so as not to drive myself mad. ;-) For a
while there, my focus had become so incredibly narrow, that I was missing out
on a great many wonderful things in my life. No mas! Writing will not
be my only artistic endeavor--the end all, be all of my life. I will also work with my paper, clay and
fabric, and I will feel good about
whatever it is I’m working on at the time.
No guilt – no shoulds! With this
attitude, I will probably never hit the big time. I’ve accepted that. But, I’ll be happy, and I will find more
peace in my life, and that is what I want more than anything.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Starting today, I have an interview up at Deep In The Heart Of Romance, a fantastic authors' site.I read a lot of author interviews, because I want to know more about the persons behind the prose.I’m intrigued with how other writers see things, do things.

Monday, March 14, 2011

I always feel a renewed sense of hope, of wonder and possibility when those wonderful signs of Spring begin to make their presence known.

Yesterday my husband and I took our Lab up into the foothills of the beautiful Manzano Mountains and let her run. She loves our sojourns into the higher country.She gets to sniff, and poke, and explore to her heart’s content.The sun was shining.There was a strong but comfortable breeze.The temp was around 70.I saw definite signs of budding on the vegetation all around me.A jack-rabbit made his presence known about 30 feet down in an arroyo.Luckily the dog didn’t notice him, or our outing might have been longer than we’d planned.J

It feels as though my writing ideas and energy begin to bud and stretch as freely as the cactus and juniper when Spring comes.What seemed so difficult and remote in the end of January, is somehow completely assessable now that the out of doors is coming back to life.

I have a meeting this morning with my editor from Siren Audio studios.http://www.sirenaudiostudios.com/We’re converting one of my contemporary paranormal romances into an audiobook.This particular company doesn’t just have someone read the work, they have multiple voices, sound effects and music.This is audio theater -- similar to the radio shows of the 1940s.It’s an exciting process.Can’t wait to hear those characters come alive, for real!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I know, I know -- I’m a late with this, but it’s still heartfelt and real, and I believe the year is still young enough to say it with validity.J

In our neck of the woods we’re enjoying a great deal of snow at the moment.Something that doesn’t happen all too often in this high desert.In spite of the difficulties considerable snowfall can present, I LOVE IT!I love sharing the anticipation and excitement I see in my children, (though they are taller than I am now), at the chance of a snow day.I love the feeling of well-being that accompanies the lovely snow covered view outside the window of my toasty warm kitchen.I love how I can check the horses out back without benefit of artificial light at one in the morning.And on a practical note, we haven’t had a decent rain in months so all this moisture is a very, very good thing.

We have a good sized wood stove that has been stoked constantly for the last several days.While sitting there I starting thinking about the characters in my WIP, as though they were real people, something I find myself doing on a regular basis.I tend to set my stories in desert regions, because that’s where I live.Then I realized I mostly set them in times of year where the weather is the kindest, Spring and Fall, because I don’t’ want my people to be miserably hot or cold.Crazy, huh?Just goes to show you how REAL your characters can become to you.

I give them a break in the personal comfort area, but I’m pretty mean when it comes to their personal conflict.Makes me sound like a masochist, but I believe in the adage I learned from a wise and dear old man years ago, “The truth will set you free -- but first you gotta’ suffer.” And suffer they do.The thing is, the more our characters suffer through their conflicts, the more they learn, and the sweeter the reward in the end.That’s what we all want from our “satisfying endings,”right?I still have a ways to go with the inflicting of suffering.

J.R. Ward, ( one of my favs) is superb at yanking her characters through the proverbial keyhole.Her folks go through hell and back before they get their happy ending, and boy, by the time they get there, you are jumping up and down for them because they absolutely deserve the goods!

So I continue to work toward that goal – to be a tougher task master with my characters!What are you focusing on with your writing?Leave a comment, tell me about one of your writing goals.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

First, I want to thank everyone who entered my contest! I really appreciate you all taking the time out to charge around the net to do so. It was fun to hear all the different venues, and experiences you all had with your proms.

Here is a list of the different venues:

~~~The American Hotel, NYC

~~~The Fairmont, San Francisco

~~~Mexico City, with the pyramids a backdrop

~~~local colleges

~~~Epcot Center

~~~County Clubs

~~~Knights of Columbus Hall

~~~Officers Clubs

~~~Bahamas, Hotel

~~~High School Gymnasiums – which I have seen turned into magical places. My daughter’s high school actually managed to hide/disguise the bleachers. That was amazing.

And the winners are:

Alane of OKC/OK won the box of Godivas

Melissa of Washington won the free copy of Sweet Charity

Congratulations, ladies! I so hope you enjoy your prizes. J

I’m hard at work on my next erotic historical, set in Tombstone, AZ. Lucas and Cara are dying to get at each other, but I need to work out a way that is reasonable while still titillating. I’m almost there. I think the setting is totally fun. Hope to get that out to you all ASAP.

Friday, October 1, 2010

I’m excited to announce my contest celebrating the release of my erotic historical romance, Sweet Charity, at Red Sage Publishing, Inc.Since sweet is in the title I decided to go with a prize that is totally sweet, a box of Godiva Chocolates.The actual contest page with the entry blank is at FreshFiction.com --http://freshfiction.com/contest.php?id=2868, and will run through October.Here is a question you need to answer to enter.==> In what type of venue was my high school prom held?Don’t worry the answer is in the next paragraph.JIn fact the answer is in the photograph.

I grew up in a town in Germany known for romance—Heidelberg.The title of a local old favorite song is kind of a trademark for the location.“Ich hab mein Hertz in Heidelberg verloren,” which means “I lost my heart in Heidelberg.”Being an army brat and one who attended high school in Heidelberg, I was privileged to attend prom in a most wonderful and unbelievable place, the Heidelberg Castle which is pictured here.Talk about your fairy tale experience.So head on over to http://freshfiction.com/contest.php?id=2868and fill out that entry blank for your chance at a box of Godivas!

ALSO:Leave me a blog post telling me about where you prom was held. Make sure you include your email address with your post, because I’ll pick one lucky commenter on October 31st and send her/him a free copy of Sweet Charity.